Willingham Wins Runoff For NC House District 23 Seat

Posted: Tue 10:21 PM, Jul 15, 2014

A Democratic Party re-do for a seat in the state House goes to Shelly Willingham.

Willingham of Rocky Mount won nearly 52 percent of the vote in unofficial returns to beat R. B. "Rusty" Holderness of Tarboro in their runoff election on Tuesday. They were the top two vote-getters in May's primary election for the job to represent Edgecombe and Martin counties.

The seat is one of 58 in the 120-member House that is not contested in November, meaning Willingham will take the seat in January.

The district is now represented by Democrat Joe Tolson, who decided not to seek re-election after 18 years in office.

Willingham is a former county commissioner and former school board member. Holderness is a business owner and served on the school board.

We encourage commenting on our stories to give you a chance to express your opinion. We rely upon the online community to report abuse. Repeat violators may be banned from posting comments.
CLICK HERE for the witn.com guidelines for posting comments.

Online Public Information File

Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or fccinfo@fcc.gov.